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Monday, December 2, 2013

KEEP ME STILL by Caisey Quinn (review)

Hey
all! Shelley here to bring you something special today. It is our
extreme pleasure to be part of Caisey Quinn's KEEP ME STILL Blog Tour.
Personally, I couldn't be more thrilled to have watched Caisey rise and
stake her claim in YA and New Adult Contemporary Romance. She has a
fresh and exciting voice. She's intelligent and romantic, and isn't
afraid to push the envelope and force issues. She does that here with
her latest series, and she more than exceeded my expectations.

We were lucky enough to be granted a fun guest post from
Caisey and an ARC for review- which will follow Caisey's spot. Of course
there is also a GIVEAWAY so be sure to enter.

And now, without further ado, Tsk, Tsk, What to Read, by
way of our dear friends at Inkslinger PR, present to you--- Caisey Quinn
and KEEP ME STILL...

Layla Flaherty had the perfect life, or close to it. Until a stranger
gunned her parents down right in front of her, leaving her with seizure
inducing PTSD. After years of trying to pass as normal and failing
miserably, she resigns herself to being invisible. But new to town
Landen O’Brien sees her, and he likes what he sees. Much to Layla’s
surprise, he doesn’t freak out when she has a seizure in front of him.
He does the exact opposite, calming her until the tremors subside. But
Landen has secrets of his own. Secrets that both bind them together and
tear them apart. Scarred by loss, Layla leaves her hometown of
Hope Springs, Georgia, hoping to put her painful past behind her and
start over in college in California. When she runs into Landen at
freshmen orientation, she has a choice to make. Reinforce those steel
walls she's built up around herself or give the only boy who can keep
her still a second chance.Landen’s more than ready to tear down those walls but this time when they come crashing down, they might bury her.

Six Social Media Miracles That Happened to Me

People
often ask how I use social media to promote my books and author
platform. When they ask this, I almost laugh out loud. If it weren’t for
social media, I don’t know that anyone, anywhere would have ever even
heard of my books.

When I first began this journey as an
author, I was headed in a much more traditional route. Or I hoped I was
at the time because I didn’t know there were other options. And then
circumstances beyond my control delayed the publishing process and I had
a choice to make. Self-publish Girl with Guitar while the ABC show
Nashville was creating a trend for it, or wait and hope the trend lasted
long enough to where people would still read it a year from now or
whenever it finally got published.

So I did what I always do in a crisis. I Tweeted Emily Tippetts. Which brings us to Miracle #1.Because
Emily is the helpful, wonderful, insightful individual that she is, she
held my hand and told me what I needed to know about getting started in
self-publishing. When I was done crying in the corner from the
overwhelming amount of information, we buckled down and did what needed
to be done to get the book ready. (I say we because I literally could
not have done it without her. Bless her.)

Once I had an
ARC, I started author-specific Facebook, GoodReads, and Twitter
accounts. Which is where Miracle #2 occurred. People Followed me. (Sorry
to sound like a cult leader, but you know what I mean). They liked my
page and began messaging me about the book.

After a few
ARCs were out, Miracle #3 occurred. I was welcomed into a precious group
of ladies that wanted to chat about books, boots, boys, and all the
things I was interested in. They still beta read for me and I’ve even
written a book with one of them!

Miracle #4 occurred
when other authors, such as Rachel Harris, found me online and said
“Hey, that sounds like a cool book. Can I read it?” Miracle #5 was that
they didn’t hate it. Just kidding, well, not really. But Miracle #5 was
actually that I got to chat and Tweet and Facebook and GoodReads message
with readers as the book was released. One precious reader/blogger who
is now an author herself offered to do a blog tour for me. I never could
have afforded to do that back then, so it was a huge deal to me for
someone just to volunteer out of the kindness of her heart. And then
another blogger turned friend, who is also now an author, put together a
release day blitz for Girl with Guitar. I didn’t even know what that
was at the time. They were just super precious ladies who’d chatted with
me on Twitter and volunteered to help me out. Like I said, miracles.

And
then Miracle #6 was that a very special group of ladies were willing to
join a street team/crazy Facebook group called the Backwoods Belles
that exists specifically to help me (and author Elizabeth Leeßthat lady I
mentioned chatting online with and then writing a book with) promote
our books. They are all so very special to me and I can’t imagine
continuing to do this without their enthusiasm and support.

So,
while I know social media has its negatives, and I myself have to be
careful not to let it suck me in and keep me from writing/editing/etc., I
am so very thankful for it. For the people I’ve met through it on this
amazing journey and for everyone who continues to chat with me online.

Thank you so much for having me!

Wonderful people I referred to in this post (that I may or may not have named above):

Emily
Tippetts, Elizabeth Lee, Erica, Ashley, Tessa, Taryn, Casey Peeler,
Rachel Harris, Rachel Brooks, and each and every single Backwoods Belle.
(There are 50 of them so I won’t name them, but if you come across one
you will probably know because they are just that fantastic.)

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter,
and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie
Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring
country girls finding love in unexpected places.

Two words. BLOWN AWAY. I was already a HUGE fan of Caisey
Quinn. You may have heard me mention that a time or two- or ten. I
freaking LOVE her. So I could not wait to read KEEP ME STILL. It sounded
amazing.
Well now that I've read it- along with the prequel, LET ME LEAVE, and
the follow up novella, HOLD US CLOSE, let me tell you, amazing does not
even come close to how much I fell for this story. It's unlike any
contemporary I've ever read. And this year alone, I've read some very
different, unique, and truly fantastic tales. KEEP ME STILL made them
pale in comparison.

So where- and how do I even begin to explain why this book
has touched me so profoundly? Caisey took extraordinary people, put them
in extraordinary circumstances, and let them loose on each other. It's a
story that is fun, exciting, touching, heartbreaking, and absolutely
stunning.

When I say it blew me away... folks, I am not exaggerating.
I fell hard and fast for both Layla and Landen. They come from
completely different worlds. Live lives that couldn't be farther apart.
Both have secrets. Nightmares... dreams. And when they come together???
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.

Theirs is in no way and easy story to tell. Their
relationship begins on rocky ground. After Layla is humiliated and hurt
from an episode at school, Landen comes to her rescue and they become
inseparable. But his he her knight in shining armour, or will his own
afflictions come between them?

There are so many layers to this story. So many elements
that make it difficult for each of our lovebirds to be themselves. To
love completely and truly trust one another enough to really let the
other one in. It's beyond anguishing. It hurt my head and my heart. I
cried more ugly tears than I ever remember before. And I'm a crier,
people!!! I'm very much an emotional reader, so that's saying a LOT.

I was so moved by the heartache and pain these two have
endured their entire lives. What they've experienced in their young
existence has been completely different from the other, but make no
mistake, they both suffer. Tremendously. And with each other they've
found solace and some peace. And genuine happiness. They are magical
together. They bring each other to life. They provide one another with a
safe place.

Through pain and sacrifice, friendship and love, a little
faith, and a lot of hope, they embark on a journey together that can
only be described as monumental... Earth shattering and life changing.
It's not perfect. It's often times scary, but it feel more real and
genuine, that days and weeks after I am still affected.

This is a story meant to touch your heart and soul, open
your eyes, and rock your world. If Layla and Landen don't leave you
begging for more... well, I'm not sure we're from the species. It's
moving and tragic. A love story to be witnessed and experienced. It's
intelligent, all consuming, and incredibly sincere. It's modern
day-coming of age at it's best. Yes, it's that freaking phenomenal.

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